


Team Vakarian

by Wafflesrock



Series: The Moments Between [1]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types
Genre: Childhood, Family, Gen, Sibling Relationship, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23016580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wafflesrock/pseuds/Wafflesrock
Summary: A look at Garrus and Solana’s sibling relationship and childhood.
Relationships: Garrus Vakarian & Solana Vakarian
Series: The Moments Between [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757308
Comments: 18
Kudos: 39
Collections: Spectre Requisitions 2020





	Team Vakarian

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Angelwingsl3 (Marie_Fanwriter)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marie_Fanwriter/gifts).



Garrus was five years old when Solana was born. He’d been content on his own. He’d had his mother's full attention as well as his father's - when Castis was home, anyway. This new, fuzzy, whining usurper was not the wonderful blessing the rest of the family seemed to believe. 

Solana was constantly in his mother’s cowl for one thing, which meant he only ever had half Valeria’s attention. His father would give him a subvocal greeting of acknowledgment and then be entranced by the scrawny, chirping chick as well. Even his grandparents were obsessed with the baby - she looked  _ just  _ like his mother, had the same blue eyes as Garrus and his grandfather, already so focused on people and faces, she’d probably land a career in communications. 

For the first time in his life, Garrus felt invisible. Far from the superpower vids and stories made that out to be, it was rather lonely. He’d busy himself tinkering with the old skycycle in the garage, trying to make it fly again. Castis had purchased it to work on alongside Garrus in an effort to hone his son’s mechanical skills. His father wasn’t around to help him though - too busy fussing over Solana - so he’d eventually give that up to play in the garden. 

“You know, Garrus, soon enough, Solana will be able to play with you,” his mother told him one afternoon as he sat eating his after-school snack. 

Garrus snorted, eyes flicking up to his sister who was trying to chew on his mother’s mandible. His mom would flare and flick it away, but Solana was tenacious and grabbed for it with greedy hands, squawking in frustration when it was pulled from her grasp. 

“Sol’s just a baby,” he huffed.  _ A dumb baby, _ he thought to himself. “When she’s finally old enough to play, I won’t  _ want  _ to play with her.” He took a sophisticated gulp of juice, refusing to make eye contact with his mother. 

“Come now, Garrus,” Valeria chided with a loving purr underlying her spoken words. “You’re her older brother. Just think how fun it will be to have a playmate. Solana can be your helper.”

Garrus paused with a handful of  _ graxin _ halfway to his mouth. He hadn’t thought about it that way. Sol could be his helper, his subordinate, maybe even his sidekick. He glanced at her again, squirming around under the infant shawl in their mother's cowl.  _ Maybe, _ she could be a fun playmate. 

**********

The skycycle incident, as it became known to the residents of Cobalt Circle, happened six years later. Garrus’ fringe was just starting to fuse and harden - an itchy, uncomfortable occurrence - and his temper was shorter than usual. It didn't help that Castis was home from the Citadel and still in what his mother had dubbed  _ “boss mode,” _ micromanaging everything his children did and doling out orders.

Garrus and Solana had been working on the skycycle all afternoon. Sol  _ only _ had two jobs; handing Garrus tools and pressing different buttons and pedals when instructed. That was it. 

“Damn it, Sol! I said to press the rear ignition, not the front!” Garrus growled in frustration at the screeching moan and twin trails of black smoke that belched from the posterior control panel. The acrid smell of burnt circuits filled his nostrils, and he snorted, rising to go open the garage door. 

“Dad said we’re not supposed to open the door,” Solana reminded as she hopped along after him, mood far too bright and cheery for Garrus’ liking. 

“Yeah, well, dad’s napping. I’ll close it before he wakes up,” Garrus told her. 

“But it’s against the  _ rules!” _ Sol fretted as Garrus pressed the commands to lift the large, alabaster door to the family skycar port. Palaven’s harsh, dry heat rushed in, warming Garrus’ plates and hide. A thin breeze mercifully stole the foul smell of his previous failure away and Garrus felt invigorated to try again with the electronics. 

_ “Garrus,” _ Sol whined, staring out the open door and into the wide, grassy courtyard that seperated theirs from the other eight houses in the neighborhood. 

_ “Spirits, Sol _ , just forget about it!” Garrus snapped as he walked back over to his project. “I’m not going to tell dad we opened the door,  _ you're  _ not going to say anything, he’ll never know and we won’t get in trouble.”

“But that’s lying.” A worried twitter reverberated Sol’s subvocals, even as she came to sit next to him on the cycle’s large, deep-cut seat. 

“It’s not lying, it’s an omission,” Garrus sighed. “Hand me the power couplings.” He gestured in their general direction and, hesitantly, Solana fetched them. 

His sister was far too worried about the rules. Even the stupid ones their dad made up for no apparent reason. Why they couldn’t have the garage door open while they worked was beyond him. Castis just liked to bark commands, Garrus decided. It always took their father a few days to readjust to family life and calm his plates.

As shadows deepened and the afternoon pressed on, Solana eventually relaxed, the nervous hum in her vocals dwindling away. Garrus had just finished soldering the skycycle’s control panel back in place and turned to look over at Sol. She’d found an older data-pad catalogue for rifle mods and was flipping through it while thrumming out the beat to a popular asari dance song. 

“Wanna give it a try?” he asked her. 

“You think it’ll work?” Excitement bubbled in her voice as Sol tossed the pad aside and stood up. 

“Only one way to find out,” Garrus replied, stradling the cycle. He pressed the center control and chirped in delight when the machine rumbled to life beneath him. 

“It’s working!” Sol squealed, hopping up and down with exuberance. “Make it fly, Garrus!”

Garrus felt his mandibles flare out in triumph. He’d done it! He’d really done it! He tucked his feet up as his thumb brushed over the sensor on the handle, just like he’d seen in the vids. The cycle roared to life, furious, orange and indigo flames spewing from the undercarriage. The steel frame vibrated so acutely that Garrus could feel his teeth rattling in his skull. All he could do was grip hard on the handles as the machine tore out the open garage door, a plume of black smoke and electric blue sparks trailing behind.

Something was terribly wrong! Garrus couldn’t control the damn thing and the more controls he frantically pressed, the louder the cycle screamed and stronger the smell of scorched metal became. The world was a blur of silver grass and corrupted neon and in sheer desperation Garrus jumped, rolling as he hit the compacted earth and covering his head. 

There was a horrendous, thundering  _ BOOM  _ that shook the ground. When Garrus dared to glance up, he was greeted by the smoldering wreckage of the skycycle - protruding from the front of his neighbor’s house. 

Sol rushed to him, followed closely by their mother. “Garrus!” Valeria cried, pulling him into a possessive embrace before quickly giving him a pat-down to check for injuries. 

He felt sore, but nothing seemed to be broken, at least. He groaned as he stood up, taking in the full effect of his recklessness. 

The doors to all the surrounding homes burst open, the occupants piling out to gawk at the twisted metal and pile of rubble now belonging to Ms. Aggripa’s home. 

“What did you do?” The dead calm in the speaker’s tone belied the seismic fury quaking in their subharmonics. 

Garrus instinctively tucked his head into his cowl as he turned to face his father. Castis Vakarian’s mandibles were pinched so tightly to his face it was a wonder his plates didn’t creak. The normally controlled vocals his father was famous for were erupting in a rage Garrus had never heard before. And the volcanic fire burning in the old man’s amber eyes could have incinerated an entire fleet. 

“I, I, I,” Garrus tried, tripping over his words. 

“I’ve told you to leave the garage door shut when you’re working on the skycycle and yet you  **_directly_ ** disobeyed me!” Castis spared a look at the heaping mess in front of him. “You’re lucky no one was injured!” he seethed, returning his burning glare back onto his child. 

Garrus stared at the ground, something thick suddenly stuck in his throat. 

“Garrus Vakarian I swear-”

“It was me, daddy,” Solana intervened, moving to stand in front of Garrus. “There was smoke and it was making the garage smell, so I opened the door. I, I didn’t think about the consequences.” Her small, slate colored shoulders hunched as she spoke. “I’m sorry.”

_ “You  _ opened the door?” Their father’s eyes went wide in shock. 

“Castis,” their mother said in a soothing voice. “Everyone is shaken and upset. Let’s assess the damage and  _ then  _ we’ll discuss punishment.” She cast a withering glare onto both her children. “Get inside,” she commanded. 

Once securely behind the door to their own home, Garrus let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Why’d you lie?” he asked, turning to Sol. 

“It wasn’t a lie,” Sol defended, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “We both opened the door. I just omitted the fact it was your idea.”

“You didn’t have to do that for me,” Garrus rumbled fondly as they headed for the kitchen.

“Sure I did,” Sol responded with a happy chirrup. “We’re a team. Someone’s gotta look out for you.”

Garrus would have liked to say that he returned the favor; looked out for Solana. But the truth was, she didn’t need looking after. Not like he did. Solana was enthusiastic and outgoing, she did well in school and the military, beloved by classmates and superiors alike; their father’s perfect child. 

He, meanwhile, was a failed C-Sec detective who’d dropped everything to follow after a Spectre. When Shepard died, he was a boat without a rudder, adrift in an uncertain sea. Omega had seemed like a good place to land. Somewhere he could actually make a difference without all the red tape holding him back. Shepard might have been proud. Solana wasn’t. 

“We need you at home!” she’d told him via omni message. “Mom’s health is only getting worse and I need help.”

“You have dad,” had been his diplomatic reply. “I’d only be a greater burden to you,” he added, considering he had no income or nursing skills to speak of. “You’re better off without me.”

“That’s  _ never  _ true Garrus.”

He’d been too ashamed of himself to respond. Shooting mercs and murderers in the dim, reeking gloom of Omega, that he could do.  _ That  _ was how he could help people. He even had a team; people to watch his back like he and Sol had done as children. 

But, when it all came crashing down, he was alone. His team had been betrayed and slaughtered. Solana wasn’t there to help him, Shepard was ash in the solar wind. His last call should have been to Sol, he thought, even as his father answered. Sol deserved an apology. He was leaving her an only child. Then, he suddenly wasn’t dead - Shepard had defied fate and returned from the void, a blazing nova of purpose and power. 

He’d buried himself in work and, perhaps inevitably, Shepard. He forgot to stay in touch with anyone not on the Normandy crew. His few communications with Sol about their mother left him feeling like his heart had been ripped out of his rib cage. Sol was disappointed with him, mildly put, and knowing that his sister, his first partner and teammate, was angry at him - rightfully so - was an additional weight on his already battered conscious. It was easier not to talk. He needed to focus on the mission. 

When that was gone though, and Shepard had once again been spirited away from his embrace, he finally faced Solana. The Reapers were coming and he didn’t want to die with regrets. They might have drifted apart, but a small, hopeful spark inside him desperately wished that they could rectify their relationship. Be the team they’d once been. 

He’d shown up at her work unannounced after months of near static communication. “Hey,” he greeted lamely when Sol looked up from her desk kiosk. “Got back yesterday. I’m staying with dad. We’re actually getting along, if you can believe it.”

Sol stared at him, eyes like saucers, lower mandible nearly on the floor. Her subvocals cried in a symphony of shock, surprise, resentment and anguish. “Your face,” she managed, standing from her chair. “I know you said you’d been injured… oh, Garrus…”

She pressed her brow to his in a display of familial affection. A keen slipped from his vocals. He didn’t deserve his sister’s love. A part of him wondered if he ever had. 

Solana dragged him out to lunch. A cafe with planters full of beaming, silver flowers and a menu featuring foods he hadn’t tasted in years. He told her everything, including things he’d omitted from their father; Shepard saving him, the Collectors, the Reapers, Shepard’s people betraying her for following Hackett’s orders… how he’d fallen in love with the woman behind the myth. Her passion, her humor, her support. 

“We’re a team,” he told Sol as he finished his steak. “No Shepard without Vakarian.” He huffed out a soft chuckle. “Even when we’re separated, it’s like she’s there when I need guidance.”  _ Or comfort, _ he privately added, mind flashing to the evening he’d learned of his mother’s death. Shepard had held him in her arms, humming old human lullabies until his throat was raw from sobs and he’d fallen into the sweet oblivion of sleep. 

“I like her already,” Solana declared when he’d finished talking. “I can’t always be there to look out for you. I’m glad somebody else has your back.” She flicked out a mandible in a half-smirk. “You  _ are  _ kinda dumb Garrus. You need a partner.”

Having Solana’s approval meant more to him than she’d ever know. It meant he’d done something  _ right _ . Somewhere in all the wrong of his life, finding and falling in love with Shepard was right in his sister’s eyes. And for the moment, that was more than enough for him. 

Despite his protests, Sol insisted on paying for lunch. As they stood outside the entrance of Solana’s work, he rumbled to her fondly. “No matter what, Sol, you were always my first partner. The Normandy team was pretty impressive, but nothing can defeat team Vakarian.”

Solana purred as she turned to walk back inside the building. “You’re my older brother, Garrus. We’ll always be a team.” She flicked out her mandibles in a grin before disappearing back into her office. 

Garrus lingered for a moment, vocals purring softly before turning to head back home. It was good to have Sol with him again. No matter what might come to pass, he’d always treasure being a member of team Vakarian. 

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to S0me_Writer for beta reading this story. Hopefully you enjoy my take on Garrus and Solana's relationship. =)


End file.
